How to tell Aniseed funnel from Ivory funnel

Cap 3-7 cm across, flat-convex in young mushrooms, later funnel-shaped with a sunken center and a thin wavy margin. Color grayish-blue to greenish-blue, fading with age to pale gray-green and cream. This characteristic bluish-green palette is the main visual feature. Surface smooth, slightly moist in wet weather, matte in dry weather. Cap skin thin.

Cap 2-5 cm across, convex when young, becoming funnel-shaped over time, with a depressed center and a thin wavy margin. Color whitish, cream, with pale gray or ochre patches; silky-sheened in wet weather, chalky white when dry. Surface smooth, with barely visible radial streaks.

Gilled hymenophore. Gills crowded, decurrent down the stem (a typical feature of the genus Clitocybe). Color whitish to cream, with a faint greenish tint echoing the cap. Spore print white to cream.

Gilled hymenophore. Gills crowded, thin, decurrent down the stem (a hallmark of the genus Clitocybe). Color whitish to cream. Spore print white.

Stem 3-7 cm tall, 0.5-1.5 cm thick, cylindrical or slightly thickened toward the base, often curved. Color greenish-gray to cream, with white mycelial down at the bottom. Surface smooth, no ring. Stem flesh firm, hollow in old mushrooms.

Stem 2-4 cm tall, 0.3-0.8 cm thick, slender, cylindrical, often curved. Color whitish to cream, with white mycelial fuzz at the base. Surface smooth, no ring. Stem flesh firm.

Flesh thin, whitish with a faint greenish tint, soft. Does not change color when cut. Has a very distinct aniseed taste and smell.

Flesh thin, white, watery, brittle. Does not change color when cut. It has a faint, pleasant smell (slightly sweet, or mealy according to some guides) and a mild taste — and that is what makes this species so treacherous: it smells and tastes "right", nothing sets off alarm bells.

Intense anise, with notes of licorice and freshly cut fennel. The most fragrant mushroom among European Clitocybe — one of the genus's culinary markers. The smell is so distinct that it is used as a diagnostic feature in field identification.

Faint and indistinct, slightly sweet; some guides describe it as mealy. This adds to the danger: the smell raises no suspicion. Never rely on smell when identifying mushrooms of this size.